Two Algerians investigated over Frenchman’s kidnapping: sources
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Two Algerians who accompanied Frenchman Herve Gourdel just before militants kidnapped and beheaded him are under house arrest while a judge investigates whether they were involved in the abduction, two security sources said on Wedne…
Foreign doctors, military guards: Bespoke care for North Korea’s Kims
SEOUL (Reuters) – In 1993, French neurosurgeon Francois-Xavier Roux received a phone call in Paris from an unidentified North Korean official. The then leader-in-waiting, Kim Jong Il, had suffered a head injury from horse-riding accident and they wante…
Special Report: In ‘Umbrella Revolution,’ China confronts limits of its power
HONG KONG (Reuters) – In the heart of Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated districts on earth, an abandoned Hong Kong police van is enveloped in the student-led demonstrations paralyzing swathes of the city. Along with yellow ribbons and flowers, symbols of the city’s pro-democracy movement, protesters have taped a hand-written placard in Chinese and English to the side of the locked and undamaged vehicle.
Britain’s Hill charms but fails to sway EU lawmakers
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The installation of a new executive team for the European Union hit a first major obstacle on Wednesday when EU lawmakers ordered Britain’s Jonathan Hill to return next week to try again to convince them he could be trusted to over…
Turkey vows to fight Islamic State, coalition strikes near border
MURSITPINAR Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkey signalled it may send troops into Syria or Iraq and let allies use Turkish bases to fight Islamic State, as coalition jets launched air strikes on Wednesday on insurgents besieging a town on its southern bor…
More than 100 ex-rebels, family members die in Congo camp: HRW
KINSHASA (Reuters) – More than 100 people died from starvation and disease over the last year in a government-run camp set up to house former rebels and their families in Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
Japanese rescuers find more dead on volcano, toll at 47
TOKYO (Reuters) – The death toll from a Japanese volcano eruption rose to 47 on Wednesday, the worst in 88 years, after more victims were discovered on the ash-covered mountain.
New Polish PM signals cautious approach on euro accession
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s new Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said on Wednesday she would largely stick to the policies of her predecessor Donald Tusk, including a cautious approach to the question of when eastern Europe’s biggest economy will join the eur…
Polish PM Kopacz wins confidence vote in parliament
WARSAW (Reuters) – New Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz won a parliamentary vote of confidence on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia fears Yemeni tumult may boost its main foe Iran
RIYADH (Reuters) – The capture of Yemen’s capital by rebels with ties to Iran has jolted Saudi Arabia, prompting a scramble by Riyadh to prevent its Shi’ite Muslim rival from exploiting the takeover to make trouble in the kingdom’s backyard.
